??? Pick another one and put it in the comments

I know that it's too much for many people to go to a conference but if you were healthy enough and had the money to go where would you like it held? The IACFS/ME conference is a great place to meet patients, doctors and researchers.

One issue is having an ME/CFS support group to support it - and there aren't that many of them. I wonder if one of the new research centers could host one.. See a list of IACFS/ME Conference sites below:

Note that Fort Lauderdale (thank you Nancy Klimas and PANDORA) has hosted FOUR conferences. With the great weather it's a natural but it's a long trek.

.I have been to five of the last six. I thought Ottawa was just beautiful. I would love to visit Chicago (Lenny Jason?) or New York (???).

I've been traveling across the West the last couple of years and Vancouver really stood out. What a beautiful, beautiful city that is. Everyone should visit Vancouver at some point.

In the wider Bay Area, David Tuller, one of our champion journalists, works out of Berkeley, and Gordon Medical Associates is in Santa Rosa a little farther north.

I would be up for Vancouver too as I have never seen it and have also heard it is beautiful.

Ottawa is a great city too, and where the Canadian Consensus Definition came from. The best advocacy group in Canada is there, the National ME/FM Action Network, and I think there may be a support or self help group. It is easy to get around, clean, beautiful and not expensive compared to many of the other places.

@CortI've been travelingacross the West the last couple of years and Vancouver really stood out. What a beautiful, beautiful city that is. Everyone should visit Vancouver at some point.

IMO, Vancouver is the most beautiful city in North America, but a long, expensive haul for most. Seattle and San Francisco are similar satellites and still a good distance for most.

I would add a dynamic city to the options, Atlanta, GA. All things go through Atlanta. It’s got a lot of eclectic, vibrant urban and suburban areas; at least four major centers to accommodate most conventions with all amenities. The CDC is here. It’s a quick access for all Alabama and direct target for all Floridians and an easy destination for most travelers.

Other than Atlanta, Chicago has it all in an urban setting with multiple eclectic neighborhoods. Food is great and it’s easy to get around.

My guess - Bateman Horne Center or Boston for the next one....If you have suggestions for cities with support groups I think I can change the poll.

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Salt Lake is affordable, clean, and has a dry climate 9 months of the year (winter is more humid). In fact the only city on the list that I suspect would work for the mold sensitive patients. That's why I'm here. Also a Delta hub. Easy to get to from all directions.

In the wider Bay Area, David Tuller, one of our champion journalists, works out of Berkeley, and Gordon Medical Associates is in Santa Rosa a little farther north.

I would be up for Vancouver too as I have never seen it and have also heard it is beautiful.

Ottawa is a great city too, and where the Canadian Consensus Definition came from. The best advocacy group in Canada is there, the National ME/FM Action Network, and I think there may be a support or self help group. It is easy to get around, clean, beautiful and not expensive compared to many of the other places.

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So that's where ME/FM Action Network is based. Really enjoyed driving around that beautiful city.

Salt Lake is affordable, clean, and has a dry climate 9 months of the year (winter is more humid). In fact the only city on the list that I suspect would work for the mold sensitive patients. That's why I'm here. Also a Delta hub. Easy to get to from all directions.

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Nicely located if you want to get to the Rockies or across Nevada to the Sierras and of course there's canyon country in Utah - just spectacular.

@CortI've been travelingacross the West the last couple of years and Vancouver really stood out. What a beautiful, beautiful city that is. Everyone should visit Vancouver at some point.

IMO, Vancouver is the most beautiful city in North America, but a long, expensive haul for most. Seattle and San Francisco are similar satellites and still a good distance for most.

I would add a dynamic city to the options, Atlanta, GA. All things go through Atlanta. It’s got a lot of eclectic, vibrant urban and suburban areas; at least four major centers to accommodate most conventions with all amenities. The CDC is here. It’s a quick access for all Alabama and direct target for all Floridians and an easy destination for most travelers.

Other than Atlanta, Chicago has it all in an urban setting with multiple eclectic neighborhoods. Food is great and it’s easy to get around.

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I was going to put Atlanta down but didn';t know about a support group. The CDC is there though - and that could make it a good draw for the IACFS/ME if they can do it without a support group.

I was going to put Atlanta down but didn';t know about a support group. The CDC is there though - and that could make it a good draw for the IACFS/ME if they can do it without a support group. I would LOVE to visit Chicago. Never been there.

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Atlanta gets it done with or w/o a support group. You’ll feel like a native in a few days. Friendly, diverse.

Chicago is big and busy. In the half dozen times I’ve been there I’ve never been at a loss for activity nor wanted for great food - downtown and North side particularly.

I wish I could visit all those places, plus Vancouver and New Orleans on the North American continent. Then I would also need to be able to walk reliably, minus the disabling hypotension, add stamina and enough cognitive ability not to make mistakes. But, having overconfined myself in the interests of safety and pacing, I am about ready to make a jail break.

It's always interesting to see what locations people are interested in. A lot of the decision where to hold the meetings is based on FUNDING and RESOURCES. The average conference takes about 18 months to plan and costs close to $150,000 - $160,000 US each time because of conference facilities rental, staffing, and technical services (e.g. audio and visual services). Many volunteer hours are also put in to assure the science that will be presented is new (not just reviews), sound and reasonable (not everything submitted is accepted) and that talks and workshops are relevant to attendees.

Since the meeting was just held at Stanford University/ San Francisco in 2014, it is unlikely it will be held there again soon as rotating locations allow different mixes of patients, clinicians, researchers, and other people interested to attend. This is true of most professional and medical conferences. Some locations are also difficult because of poor/ lack of transportation and costs to many researcher/ clinicians/ patients/ others to attend.

And YES, the IACFS/ME is alive! We produce the the Fatigue journal that comes out every quarter full of ME/CFS research, a Newsletter which came out 3 times a year until recently, and do a lot of behind-the-scenes work, advocating on a national and international level. Because we are a very low-budget almost-all-volunteer organization, we spend most of our effort and resources doing the work rather than publicizing it. If there were more than 24 hours in a day and we each had three heads and eight hands, you would hear more from us! Our board members and volunteers are mostly healthcare professionals/ scientists who do medical research and/or take care of patients so this is on top of their usual workload.

If you would like to volunteer to help with the conference (we often have patient/ supporter volunteers) or can help contribute funds to a future conference, you can contact the main IACFS/ME e-mail box at

How to Contact the IACFS/MEUS Mail
The International Association for CFS/ME
9650 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20814

Maybe we could have them internationally someday! I know that would be difficult but there are quite a few of us in the UK (and I guess in most, if not all countries) so if a conference was held near us it'd be very useful to have access to something like this.

Maybe we could have them internationally someday! I know that would be difficult but there are quite a few of us in the UK (and I guess in most, if not all countries) so if a conference was held near us it'd be very useful to have access to something like this.